Recently this August I wrapped up my first Limited Edition Grandparent and Grandchild Photo Session in Kelowna, BC. This photo session was specifically geared towards grandparents having a memory and photos with their grandchildren. This photo session was also different in that 100% of the cost would be donated to two organizations: The Heart and Stroke Foundation and Hope for Dementia. I had a great time with these grandparents and kids!
Below, I’ll take you through a brief journey on why this session was so important to me.
Why?
Back at the beginning of the summer I had started planning this Grandparent & Grandchild photo session. When I was growing up both my parents worked Monday to Friday and so my grandparents looked after us. To this day one of my fondest memories that I have with my maternal grandparents that I hope is recreated between my own children and their grandparents is weekend sleepovers at my maternal grandparents house. She would let us each pick a movie from Rogers to rent, we’d grab slurpees at the corner store, she would make all of our favourite meals and let us stay up as late as we wanted. On my paternal grandparents side I loved our annual family Salmon fishing trips to the coast. I’d often drive with my Uncle down and it was always an adventure - we’d pop a tire, get lost, end up in the US, miss ferries, take wrong turns, etc. I know it sounds awful but it was fun for us as kids.
So because of these fond memories I knew summer would be the perfect time to take grandparent portraits and it’s because of these fond memories that I wanted other families to have treasurable photos that they can have forever.
The Donation to Heart and Stroke Foundation and Hope for Dementia
When I was originally planning this photo session I had mapped it out to be similar to my Limited Edition Motherhood Session where 25% would go to a charitable organization. However, sometime in July I decided to make the whole session go towards a charitable organization for personal reasons. “Business wise” some would say this is a mistake and not very good “business practice” but in my heart I needed to do this session this way.
A contributing factor to my family losing my paternal grandfather was a Stroke. He survived the Stroke but it did affect his way of life - he had to use a walker if he got around and couldn’t use one side of his body very well. After the stroke he lived for some time before we lost him in 2010. Then recently my own dad encountered a health scare with his heart. After some days in the hospital he was thankfully diagnosed and left with a pacemaker and defibrillator put in this chest. These two causes and relationships is why I decided I wanted half of the money from the Grandparent photo session to go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
The other half I decided I wanted to go to Hope for Dementia. They’re an organization that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Dementia and other Cognitive Disorders. For personal and privacy reasons someone close to my family is the reason why I included Hope for Dementia in where the money will go.
Grandparents Are Important To Me
Growing up my grandparents were very involved in our lives. They took us to school some mornings and picked us up, helped us with our homework, sometimes cooked us dinner during the week, treated us special during the holidays and birthdays, and with or without them knowing parted important lessons to us that stick with with me.
Do What You Love
One of the important lessons that my grandparents parted was doing what you love. My paternal grandfather that passed in 2010 loved fishing. It was one of his passions, his hobbies that he shared with his family. Majority of the photos that we have where he has a huge smile on his face was when he was fishing. I like to think he’s out there fishing right now. Although none of the grandchildren share the same level of love for fishing I am so happy and thankful that he shared his love for it with his family. I have great memories from those fishing trips we would take as a family and his love for fishing not only imparted finding and doing something that I love but to share it with your family too. Whether they take to it is up to them but you would be surprised what they remember and hold on to from the experience.
Spend Time with Family
I was raised in a very close family. I think part of why I was close to my family was also for a period we lived on the same plot of land together. My paternal grandparents owned an orchard and so my grandparents lived at the top, my uncle and his family lived at the top too, my other uncle and for a time cousin lived next door to us and we lived at the bottom of the orchard. The reasoning was because my grandfather needed more help on the orchard and so it made sense to our family. This resulted in seeing our family a lot, and on my maternal grandparents side we would see them regularly with family dinners, we also had sleepovers and in the winter we would spend almost every weekend at Big White. This family ecosystem parted to me the importance of family and how family supports you when you need them too. When my paternal grandfather passed I made a silent promise to myself to always try and make time for family.
This Limited Edition Grandparent and Grandchild Portrait Session is near and dear to my heart. Thank you to all the families that booked a session and I hope to see you next summer!
Kelowna Family Photographer
I’m a Kelowna Family Photographer. My mission to you is to document your motherhood and create treasurable memories for yourself and your kids. To get in touch about all things motherhood and family photography head to my contact page!